What did you do in the garden today?

[cavemanrich]

Another update on the cherry bushes. There's more blooms and leaves popping up every day! Still no blooms on the Joel (ther front plant), only the Jan (the back plant). The Joel is smaller and just a bit behind I think. It's growing leaves though.
View attachment 2018373View attachment 2018374View attachment 2018375

Your cherry trees are blooming ahead of schedule Wondering the (zone#) location of source you received them from

That said, anybody have a solution for keeping squirrels out of the garden?

My yard is a squirrel magnet. That is of course brought about on myself. I feed those Lil Devlz (year round) If you enlarge the pix ,,, it is easy to count at least 12 there. I went thru 5 bags (50 pound each) of BOSS. last year. Squirrels probably consumed 80% of it. Rest went to birdies and chickies.

My issue with them ,,,, they were burying seeds in my flower pots.

I got the suggestion to get Critter Ridder, right here on this thread. I think it was
Wee Farmer Sarah that suggested it. I used it, and it did deter squirrels, but was ineffective after rain. I got this other equivalent product, that was resistant to rain, and was successful. Available at HD, and am sure many other stores as well.

This is a repellent, and not a POISON. Caveman does not KILL anything.

Coyote urine may work for the rabbits.

I wonder if dog urine would have same effect

 

[BReeder!]

Your cherry trees are blooming ahead of schedule Wondering the (zone#) location of source you received them from

My yard is a squirrel magnet. That is of course brought about on myself. I feed those Lil Devlz (year round) If you enlarge the pix ,,, it is easy to count at least 12 there. I went thru 5 bags (50 pound each) of BOSS. last year. Squirrels probably consumed 80% of it. Rest went to birdies and chickies.
View attachment 2018552
My issue with them ,,,, they were burying seeds in my flower pots.
View attachment 2018555View attachment 2018556View attachment 2018557
I got the suggestion to get Critter Ridder, right here on this thread. I think it was
Wee Farmer Sarah that suggested it. I used it, and it did deter squirrels, but was ineffective after rain. I got this other equivalent product, that was resistant to rain, and was successful. Available at HD, and am sure many other stores as well.

View attachment 2018562
This is a repellent, and not a POISON. Caveman does not KILL anything.


I wonder if dog urine would have same effect

Or cat urine... I bet cats are a common predator to squirrels and rabbits in suburban areas like I'm in. I don't have a cat though... I'm not exactly interested in my garden smelling like a litter box either.

 

[igorsMistress]

Oh my gosh... BAD squirrels!!! My blinken feral chickens are saints compared to your squirrels. I'll shut up obviously things could be a lot worse... yikes!

Well gardeners, looks like Kauai MAY get some rain and cooler temps this eve and tomorrow. The Coconut oil has solidified to the consistency of a thin milkshake this winter and two light blankets are still serving us well for sleep. I'm hoping for some cooler temps for sure.

I am on my second day of sanding the railings down on front lanai. Slow and tedious but looking good.

My broody hen has flattened to a pancake and is back to growling at everything. Such a lovely little creature. View attachment 2018481

92 yo MIL is flying in from Oahu for a visit on Friday after the leading edge of this front passes. Nice lady but she likes to talk A LOT- I personally love the quiet so it becomes very challenging for me... but hey... she's 92 years old... I'll get over it. She has also lost a lot of weight from her already slight frame and has been diagnosed with dementia. Poor thing SIL says she has become very challenging. It should be a very interesting next couple weeks. She will share her time between BIL, aunt and us. Good to give SIL, who takes the brunt of her care a break. Good thing I have chicken/garden therapy.

Happy Tuesday all!!!
View attachment 2018503

I love the green!

How long will your MIL be visiting TB?

 

[igorsMistress]

Another update on the cherry bushes. There's more blooms and leaves popping up every day! Still no blooms on the Joel (ther front plant), only the Jan (the back plant). The Joel is smaller and just a bit behind I think. It's growing leaves though.
View attachment 2018373View attachment 2018374View attachment 2018375

they're such pretty blossoms

 

[cavemanrich]

I'm not exactly interested in my garden smelling like a litter box either.

I wonder if coyote urine would be much better smelling than dog or cat. My cats (current ferals) do not bother my squirrels. 2 cats that I had previously did.
I think it is a learned behavior to avoid certain predators with animals.
The squirrels will be eating, and my cats run around the grounds simultaneously. They do not exactly socialize, but are not bothered, by each-others presence.
Animal urine outdoors will loose its potent odor after rain. Even skunk juice.

 

[igorsMistress]

Your cherry trees are blooming ahead of schedule Wondering the (zone#) location of source you received them from

My yard is a squirrel magnet. That is of course brought about on myself. I feed those Lil Devlz (year round) If you enlarge the pix ,,, it is easy to count at least 12 there. I went thru 5 bags (50 pound each) of BOSS. last year. Squirrels probably consumed 80% of it. Rest went to birdies and chickies.
View attachment 2018552
My issue with them ,,,, they were burying seeds in my flower pots.
View attachment 2018555View attachment 2018556View attachment 2018557
I got the suggestion to get Critter Ridder, right here on this thread. I think it was
Wee Farmer Sarah that suggested it. I used it, and it did deter squirrels, but was ineffective after rain. I got this other equivalent product, that was resistant to rain, and was successful. Available at HD, and am sure many other stores as well.

View attachment 2018562
This is a repellent, and not a POISON. Caveman does not KILL anything.


I wonder if dog urine would have same effect

I love the flowers Cavey! Especially with the squirrels additions included.

 

[WthrLady]

YES! That's exactly what we find. They also climbed our corn stalks last year, striped the husk and chewed every kernel of the cob, leave the bare cob still attached to the stalk with the husk hanging.

@WthrLady The squirrelinator looks pretty cool. I just looked it up. What do you do with the squirrels you catch though? Kill and toss out or cook (not certain I like the idea of eating local squirrel or not), or release somewhere (that may not be legal...)?
And would the squirrelinator catch mice and rabbits you think or is it not size appropriate?

works are larger ground squirrels and tree squirrels. We shoot them and toss them in the ditch for the coyotes or use their bodies as bait for our coyotes/fox traps.

I use a mink box and sticky traps and rat traps for mice. Snares for rabbits.

 

[WthrLady]

We live on a high bald hill in eagle country. Tree squirrels and rabbits, we don't have them here.

 

[BReeder!]

Your cherry trees are blooming ahead of schedule Wondering the (zone#) location of source you received them from

I ordered them from Hirt's Gardens. They are located in Strongsville, Ohio. It isn't exactly warm there this time of year. Even they expected the plants to be dormant. It appears that they came out of dormancy in transit actually, which took 3-5 days through standard shipping (I don't recall exactly how long). I emailed them this morning and they got back to me quickly (a few hours). They did suggest I keep them indoors in the pots they shipped in and then transplant when there's true Spring weather. I may just transplant them now though into larger pots and keep them through the season as potted plants. I'll move them outdoors once the weather is better. Then I can transplant them in the early Fall after harvest so they have time to get their roots in the earth and will be able to the overwinter outdoors. I'm hesitant to transplant in Spring because I really don't want to risk shocking the plants and losing our first yield of cherries, small as it may end up being.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Our outside are huge the squirrels do not bother here